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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22760518">i’ll never be over you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/listerbirdy/pseuds/listerbirdy'>listerbirdy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Squip Jeremy Heere, Post-Squip Rich Goranski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:20:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,442</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22760518</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/listerbirdy/pseuds/listerbirdy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeremy Heere’s life was great now. There were only normal voices inside his head, he had a great group of friends and a beautiful girlfriend, so why did something not feel right?</p><p>Michael Mell had been in love with his best friend Jeremy for years. Even after everything that had happened with the Squip, Michael’s feelings for him just wouldn’t go away. Will Michael be able to overcome what he believed  to be an unrequited crush on his best friend?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Christine Canigula &amp; Jeremy Heere, Christine Canigula/Jeremy Heere, Jeremy Heere &amp; Michael Mell, Jeremy Heere/Michael Mell, Rich Goranski &amp; Michael Mell, Rich Goranski/Michael Mell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jeremy Heere was happy now. He had a beautiful girlfriend, there was no longer a supercomputer inside his head trying to take over the school, and he had a great group of friends. All of them had become really close after what had happened with the Squip, which the group later dubbed ‘The Squipcident’. Jeremy thought that life couldn’t get much better. So why did something feel so off?</p>
<p>The group were all making their way to class after lunch when Rich slid beside Jeremy. </p>
<p>“Hey, uh, can we talk?”</p>
<p>Jeremy shrugged. “Sure.”</p>
<p>When the rest of the group were far enough away to not hear, Rich asked, “So, you remember when we were both in hospital, I asked you if Michael was single, right?”</p>
<p>“Uh, yeah, why?”</p>
<p>“Well, you never really gave me an answer,” Rich said, letting out a small awkward laugh.</p>
<p>Jeremy’s heart sank, and he wasn’t entirely sure why. Surely he should feel happy that one of his friends wants to ask out his best friend, so why didn’t he?</p>
<p>“So,” Rich said, “Is he?”</p>
<p>“He is, yeah,” Jeremy replied, forcing a smile.</p>
<p>Rich beamed. “Okay, cool! I’m thinking about asking him out today, do you think that’s a good idea?”</p>
<p>There was a part of Jeremy that really wanted to say no for some reason, but he tried to silence that part of his mind as best as he could. Rich was a really cool guy, and he seemed to get along well with Michael, so why wouldn’t he think that Rich asking him out would be a good idea?</p>
<p>“Go for it,” Jeremy replied.</p>
<p>Rich smiled and patted Jeremy’s shoulder. “Thanks, dude.”</p>
<p>As Rich walked away, he turned back to Jeremy and said, “You know, there was a time when I really did think you and Michael were dating. You’re both so close.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, we are.”</p>
<p>Jeremy stood and watched as Rich walked away. He thought maybe it was because they were both so close that he was so overprotective of Michael. That and because of the shitty way he had treated him during The Squipcident. God, he would never forgive himself for how he treated Michael then. He’d apologised tons of times, but he could never apologise enough. Michael would always tell him to not sweat it, but Jeremy thought it must’ve hurt him a lot. After all that Jeremy had put Michael through, why didn’t he want him to be with Rich, who could potentially make him happy?</p>
<p>Jeremy made his way to his next class, and tried to ignore how thinking about Rich and Michael dating made him feel.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>It was the end of the day, and Jeremy was stood by his locker with Christine. Christine was talking about how Something Rotten deserved way more appreciation than it got. Jeremy usually loved listening to Christine talk about musicals she loved. He just really loved the way Christine’s eyes lit up when she was talking about something she felt passionate about. It made him wonder if his eyes ever lit up like that. </p>
<p>Right now though, he just couldn’t pay attention to her. His focus was on Rich and Michael, who were standing at the other side of the hall. Rich was saying something and Michael was smiling and laughing. Jeremy wished he could hear what Rich was saying.</p>
<p>“Jeremy, are you okay? You seem a bit distant,” Christine said, snapping Jeremy’s attention back to her. </p>
<p>“Yeah, sorry. I’m all yours now,” Jeremy said, smiling.</p>
<p>Christine frowned. “Is it me? Am I talking too much? Are you getting bored of listening to me? I’m really sorry. I just get so carried away—”</p>
<p>“It’s fine, really,” Jeremy interrupted. He placed his hands on her hips. “Besides, I love hearing you talk.”</p>
<p>Christine beamed and left a quick peck on Jeremy’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“Bye,” Jeremy said, though he was miles away once again.</p>
<p>He was looking at Michael again. Rich had left, and after a couple of moments, Michael noticed Jeremy looking at him and smiled. </p>
<p>“Hey, man!” Michael said as he walked over to Jeremy.</p>
<p>“Hey, dude. What were you and Rich talking about?”</p>
<p>Jeremy noticed how Michael’s face changed. His cheeks went slightly pink and a small smile appeared on his face. </p>
<p>“He was asking me out on a date! Can you believe it?”</p>
<p>Jeremy forced a smile. “Aww, did you say yes?”<br/>
“I did. You know, for a while I was skeptical of him — I was skeptical of our whole group — but he’s actually really cool.”</p>
<p>Jeremy had a sour taste in his mouth, but why? Michael thinks he’s cool and wants to go out with him, so surely Jeremy should definitely feel happy for him now, because it clearly was going to make Michael happy. He couldn’t be selfish again.</p>
<p>“That’s awesome, dude. What are you doing on your date then?”</p>
<p>Michael laughed. “Oh, it’s nothing very romantic. He knows how much I talk about Apocalypse Of The Damned, so he suggested just hanging at his house and playing it.”</p>
<p>Michael was going to play Apocalypse Of The Damned with Rich? </p>
<p>“But that’s our game.”</p>
<p>Jeremy didn’t really mean to say it out loud, and he really hoped the hurt he felt didn’t show.</p>
<p>Michael laughed again. “I’m pretty sure anyone can play it, Jer. Don’t worry, you’ll always be my player two.”</p>
<p>He’ll always be Michael’s player two.</p>
<p>“I’m happy for you, man,” he said, though he wasn’t entirely sure if he meant it.</p>
<p>Michael smiled. “Thanks. Enough about me now. Are you doing anything with Christine this weekend?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows and gently nudging Jeremy’s arm.</p>
<p>Jeremy rolled his eyes and laughed. “Yeah, we’re going to watch some local theatre company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” he said.</p>
<p>“Nice!” Michael said. “Hey, I gotta run. I’ll text you over the weekend.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Jeremy replied.</p>
<p>“Have fun on your date!” Michael called as he walked away.</p>
<p>“You too,” Jeremy said, though he definitely didn’t say it loud enough for Michael to hear.</p>
<p>If Jeremy was being honest with himself, he wasn’t really looking forward to his date with Christine, but he thought it would be good for them to have some time just the two of them again, as it had been a while since they’d been on a date alone together. Hopefully it would help distract him from thinking about Michael and Rich.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Michael Mell loved Jeremy. Sure, the way Jeremy treated him really hurt him, but he knew he wasn’t totally himself at the time. He would always be there for Jeremy, because he loved him too much not to be. Michael was happy that Jeremy was happy, but seeing him with Christine did sting a little inside. He’d been in love with Jeremy since they were thirteen, and he was having a hard time trying to move past his unrequited feelings. </p><p>Things did seem like they were going to change for Michael now, though. He’d been asked out by Rich yesterday. Michael asked if they could just take it slow, to which Rich agreed, and suggested that they could play Apocalypse Of The Damned at his house. Michael thought it was a sweet gesture, since playing video games isn’t what most people would really call a date, but it was what Michael loved to do. </p><p>Michael thought that if playing video games at someone’s house was considered a date, then him and Jeremy had been on loads.</p><p>God, why did he have to make everything about Jeremy? Michael decided to change the subject in his mind. This would be his first ever date, and even though it was going to be super chill and Rich was fine with the whole taking things slow idea, he still felt really nervous. He grabbed a colourful patterned button up shirt and a pair three quarter length jeans. </p><p>Once he had them on, he looked in the mirror and ran a hand through his hair, and then looked at himself and sighed. Rich would probably wonder why he even bothered to make himself look nice. No matter how hard he tried, he would always be a loser. </p><p>Michael was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed his mother was in his room.</p><p>“Oh my God, Michael! Look at you! All dressed up for your hot date,” she teased, giving him a wink.</p><p>Michael rolled his eyes. “Mama,” he whined.</p><p>“Leslie, come up here and embarrass our son with me!”</p><p>Michael groaned, and then yelled, “Please don’t, Mom!”</p><p>“I’m coming!” he heard his Mom call from downstairs.</p><p>Michael sighed and his Mama laughed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. We’re both just so proud of you!”</p><p>“Well, don’t you look handsome,” Michael’s Mom said, her head peeping around Michael’s bedroom door.</p><p>“You’re both so annoying,” Michael groaned.</p><p>“It’s only because we love you,” Michael’s Mom said, running a hand through his hair and kissing him on the top of his head after. </p><p>“We do,” said his Mama, quickly pinching his cheek. “And we are really proud of you. We love Jeremy and we’re always happy to hear you’re spending time with him, but it’s so nice that you have some other friends now too!”</p><p>Michael smiled. “Thanks. Now please can you both get out of my room?” </p><p>Michael’s Mama gasped. “Of course, we don’t want you being late now do we? Come on, Leslie, let’s leave our son in peace.”</p><p>The two of them walked out, and a few moments later Michael heard his Mama call, “Love you!”</p><p>Michael rolled his eyes and chuckled. He grabbed his phone from his bed and saw he had two texts. One was from Rich, and the other was from Jeremy.</p><p>jer-bear 💙: there’s a new video game out and people are saying it’s better than aotd! we have to play it together</p><p>Michael grinned.</p><p>to: jer-bear 💙: better than aotd? i find that hard to believe<br/>
aren’t you supposed to be on a date with christine?</p><p>Jeremy started typing almost immediately.</p><p>jer-bear 💙: me too tbh<br/>
and yeah, i’m with her right now</p><p>to: jer-bear 💙: i’ll leave you two lovebirds to it then ;)</p><p>Michael closed his messages with Jeremy and opened the text from Rich.</p><p>rich goranski: Hey man! I can’t wait to see you today!</p><p>He thought Rich must really like him, and even now that Rich had literally asked him out and sent such a sweet text, Michael still found it hard to believe. He felt as though maybe the whole thing was some sort of prank or a bet.</p><p>No. He couldn’t think shit like that. He knew Rich pretty well, and he was quite sure he was a nice guy now who would never do something like that. He had one more quick look in the mirror, ran a hand through his hair, and he was ready to go. </p><p>...</p><p>Michael’s stomach twisted as he knocked on the door. He was really nervous, and he hoped Rich wouldn’t pick up on it.</p><p>The door opened, and Rich greeted him with a smile. “Hey, Michael!”</p><p>“Hey, man,” Michael said, smiling back.</p><p>Rich led Michael through his house, taking him up the stairs and into his bedroom. Michael sat down on Rich’s bed as Rich found Apocalypse Of The Damned and put it into his game console. Michael looked around the room and noticed that Rich had tons of rock band posters up. He also noticed a small bi flag sticker on Rich’s closet door. </p><p>“So, Apocalypse Of The Damned, huh? I’ve never played it, I’m more of a Mario Kart man myself, but you talk about it a lot so I’m sure it’s good,” Rich said as he sat down beside Michael.</p><p>The game loaded up on the TV screen, and the theme music started playing.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s really cool. What I love about it is that you aren’t playing against one another, instead you’re playing with each another to defeat the bad guys.”</p><p>“Nice!” Rich exclaimed.</p><p>The two characters had loaded up on the screen. </p><p>“I’ll let you be player one, since you’re the one who knows what you’re doing,” Rich said.</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>The game loaded up, and the two of them made their way through the levels. It took a lot of tries, and Michael had to explain to Rich what to do most of the time, but he didn’t mind. Once they’d completed the final level, they high fived, and Rich flopped down on his bed. </p><p>“You have the patience of a saint, dude,” he joked.</p><p>Michael laughed. “You were good for your first time! It took Jeremy ages to get the hang of it.”</p><p>Rich looked up at Michael, smiling. “You talk about Jeremy a lot. You two must be really close.”</p><p>Michael smiled fondly. “Yeah, we’ve been best friends kindergarten.”</p><p>Michael noticed Rich’s smile drop into a small frown. “I wish I had a friendship like that. I’m close with Jake, but we only became friends once I was Squipped. Before that, nobody even knew me.”</p><p>“We do now,” Michael said, making Rich smile once again.</p><p>Rich sat back up on the bed. “I hate myself for ever getting a Squip. That was a total waste of six hundred dollars. And apparently Jeremy got his for four hundred!” </p><p>Michael laughed. “He nearly didn’t! If it wasn’t for me being there with him, he would’ve told the guy how much he thought he’d have to pay!”</p><p>Rich chuckled. “The Squip told me I had to change everything about myself. It made me a total dick, and I was totally miserable. I admire you, because you never even considered getting one. Probably ‘cause you’re already cool without one.”</p><p>Michael scoffed.</p><p>“No, it’s true! I know I said some nasty shit to you and Jeremy before, but I didn’t mean any of it. My Squip told me I had to say that stuff to be cool, though I guess that makes me an asshole for going through with it.”</p><p>“You were a bit of an ass, and so was Jeremy. You were both total assholes. But you both just wanted to feel like you belong, and I totally get that.”</p><p>“Do you?” Rich asked.</p><p>Michael looked at him, confused.</p><p>“Do you feel like you belong?”</p><p>Michael frowned. “I’m not sure.”</p><p>“Well, I’m going to try and make you feel like you do, because you’re seriously awesome, and we all love you.”</p><p>Michael felt his face go pink, and Rich just looked at him for a moment, smiling, as if he was just taking in his face.</p><p>After a moment, Rich asked, “Uh, do you wanna play again?” </p><p>“Hell yeah I do!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>writing michael mell’s mums was the highlight of this chapter tbh. also, jeremy totally gets flustered every time he sees that his name is saved as “jer-bear 💙” on michael’s phone. oh, and sorry this chapter took me so long to write, i’ve been busy (i also saw be more chill at the other palace in london the other week! the cast are absolutely phenomenal!)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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